Terror Grim the Soul Oppresses in Tonic Solfa
Terror Grim the Soul Oppresses in Tonic Solfa to MANNHEIM, doh is E: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 8 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dTer--mror-sgrim-sthe- | lsoul-sop--fpress--mes- |
| mWhen-fthe-sday-dof- | mdeath-ris-dnear;--- |
| sSighs-sthe-lheart,-sthe- | tareins-lare-lsun--sdered,- |
| sQuakes-reach-mpart-lwith- | sanx--feious-sfear;--- |
| dWhile-mthe-smind-sthe- | lwoe-sde--ftai--mleth- |
| mOf-fthe-scon--dflict- | mto-rap--dpear.--- |
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- Key
- E major
- Doh
- E
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (E)
- Range
- d to ta (E to C𝄪, a seventh)
- Tune
- MANNHEIM
- Words
- Traditional Latin, John Brownlie
- Music
- Friedrich Filitz
Tune MANNHEIM by Friedrich Filitz (1804–1876); words by Traditional Latin; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). Sources and licences.
The solfa line by line
The same solfa as plain text, a line of the hymn at a time, with the words of the first verse under it — easy to copy into your own notes or a message to the choir. To print it, download the solfa as a PDF.
Doh is E · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in E major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Terror grim the soul oppresses
When the day of death is near;
Sighs the heart, the reins are sundered,
Quakes each part with anxious fear;
While the mind the woe detaileth
Of the conflict to appear.
Spectacle all woe inspiring
Who its terror can pourtray?
See, the course of life is ended,
And the sickening flesh gives way,
For the wrestling soul in triumph
Breaks the bands that bid her stay.
Sense decays, and fails expression;
Dark the world to melting eye;
And the troubled breast in anguish,
Gasping, breathes her burdened sigh;
Grace of form and glow of beauty,
From the withering body die.
Thoughts, and words, and deeds forgotten,
Crowd around in grim array;
And unwilling eyes behold them,
Be they closed or turned away;
In the heart they seem to rankle,
Turn he wheresoe’er he may.
Vain the vow of new obedience—
Time for vowing is no more;
Vain the sorrow of repentance,
For the day of grace is o’er;
Conscience now the tortured sinner
Gnaws with pangs unfelt before.
Draughts of sweet deluding pleasure
Give the bitter dregs at last;
Come, unending pain and anguish,
With the short-lived rapture past;
Then, what once appeared so worthy,
Is aside as worthless cast.
Then, O Christ, Thou King victorious,
Come with succour in my plight;
When the soul is freed from bondage,
In its hour of darkest night;
Come, O Christ, Thy help extending,
Free me from the accuser’s might.
Headlong may the Prince of Darkness
With the hosts infernal fall!
Thou, the Shepherd of Salvation,
Bid me follow at Thy call,
To the land where fulness dwelleth,
And those eyes shall see it all.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum E and sing d r m f s up from it, so the whole choir has the key in their ears before you start.
- Pitch the first note. The tune starts on d (E).
- Count the time. 4/4 means four crotchet beats in each bar. In the grid every cell is half a crotchet: a dash (–) holds the note before it, and _ is a rest.
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s l and the chromatic ta fe. A comma after a note (s,) is the octave below; an apostrophe (d') is the octave above.
New to solfa? Read how to read Tonic Solfa and how to find the doh of a song.
About the hymn
John Brownlie translated these words from the Latin hymns of the early Church for Hymns of the Early Church (London, 1896), where he gives them as “By Peter Damiani”, headed “_Death and Judgment_”.
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Eights and Sevens, six lines (8.7.8.7.8.7), and this page sets them to MANNHEIM; any other Eights and Sevens, six lines tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Latin
- Translated (1896): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Music (1847): Friedrich Filitz (1804–1876)
Tune MANNHEIM by Friedrich Filitz (1804–1876); words by Traditional Latin; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925).
Sung to the same tune: Alleluia, Hymn of Sweetness, Gracious Savior, Gentle Shepherd, Lead Us, Heavenly Father, Lead Us, Thirty Years by God Appointed.
Questions about Terror Grim the Soul Oppresses
What is the doh of Terror Grim the Soul Oppresses?
In this version, in E major, doh is E. If your choir sings it in another key, doh moves to the new key note and every solfa syllable stays the same — that is what movable doh means.
What note does Terror Grim the Soul Oppresses start on?
It starts on d (E in E major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Terror Grim the Soul Oppresses in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, Friedrich Filitz died in 1876; the words were in print by 1896 and the music in 1847. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in the UK, the EU, the United States and Nigeria. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.